Stained
by Kinomi Akai
Summary: COMPLETE. It's a pretty high chance that you find your soulmate in your lifetime. For anybody other than Sasuke, that is. SNS, soulmate AU, oneshot.


_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or any of its associated characters!  
_

_Summary: __COMPLETE. __It's a pretty high chance that you find your soulmate in your lifetime. For anybody other than Sasuke, that is. SNS, soulmate AU, oneshot.__  
_

_A/N: Whew. It's been one heck of a month! Y'know that big ol' exam I did last year? I'm about to enter the second phase of that. In fact, I'm knee deep. But! I've been staying pretty on track and am so excited to have finally written a soulmate AU! I've had this idea for ages. I hope you all like it! Happy 2020 :)  
_

* * *

**Stained**

Sasuke stuffed a gloved hand into his pocket, fishing out his keys. He'd made it home in record time today—helped, in no small part, to the blustering winds and biting snow still stinging at his face. It hadn't been as bad as it could have been, though...he had made it here, after all.

_ "—oulmate. And isn't it natural? Isn't it incredible? We_—"

And Naruto, of course, was home. After three long months of _never_ being home, Sasuke found the sight...settled something in him. Of course, Naruto was taking full advantage of having actual free time for the first time in ages by splaying himself across the entire couch and absolutely _blasting_ the TV. Somebody could have smashed the window and the idiot would barely even notice.

Sasuke stifled his snort and crept up behind him, listening to the speaker dressed just well enough to have him convinced they were selling something.

"—_easy to take for granted, with so many as sixty-three percent of us finding our soulmate in our lifetime. And the chances get better every year! The newest method that scientists are exploring is a breakdown of the mark itself; the famous stain on our skin, the moment we're first touched by our soulmate. I like to think it's a representation of the way they touch our hearts. But some say—"_

"How can you watch this shit?"

Naruto nearly leapt off the couch. He managed to catch himself, although his chopsticks weren't so lucky—

Sasuke laughed as they clattered onto the floor.

"—_as if emerging from that true, wonderful best feeling. Scientists have tried to break down exactly how that reaction changes the skin, altering the very—"_

"Wh—hey! The hell are you doing back so early?"

"University lost power. Everything's shut down."

"No kidding? This is a hell of a storm, how did you—"

"I walked."

"What?! Sasuke—"

"The buses were packed and the cars were bumper to bumper. I can handle a bit of snow, Naruto. What are you eating?"

"Leftovers. Not all of them—I left you some!"

Sasuke's smile widened.

"Did you? Miracles do happen."

Naruto swatted at him over the back of the couch. Sasuke snorted, turning on his heel to head to the kitchen…

_"—known as halves. To the average person, it's an exceedingly rare phenomenon, and yet, in some families, it's become almost expected. Are soulmates hereditary? Is there a 'half' gene, passed down through generations? If you ask_—"

Naruto scrambled for the remote.

_ "_—_Madara Uchiha, former head of the Uchiha fam—"_

The TV shut off.

Sasuke gently shut the fridge.

"I—" Naruto started—

"You think I can't handle a namedrop?" Sasuke asked, pouring his food into the bowl. "Do you need me to read my student feedback to you again?"

Naruto let out a soft laugh. It was still nervous, though—no doubt Naruto could still pick out the tension in Sasuke's shoulders, and the way he refused to turn back. Yes, it was a touchy, uncomfortable subject. _Yes_, it was something he'd spoken to Naruto about before. No one else, though, other than a few brisk words with his brother that he was _fine_, and perfectly happy the way he was—

* * *

_ "How was your day?"_

_ Sasuke did his seatbelt up and stared out the window._

_ "Fine," he told his brother, not looking back. His first day had been exactly as he'd expected—exactly like the last school. Exactly like every other school. He'd probably end up leaving this one after a few months, too._

_ But Itachi didn't reply right away, and Sasuke was immediately uncomfortable. Did they have to talk about this every time? Sasuke was—_

_ "You know," Itachi began, and Sasuke was already rolling his eyes, "maybe if you dressed—"_

_ "I don't want anyone to touch me," Sasuke immediately snapped, pulling his turtleneck up further. That was it. That was all there was to it. If he could comfortably cover his face, he'd do that too—but so far, all he'd managed to do consistently had been turtlenecks tucked into pants and sleeves tucked into gloves and pants tucked into boots_—

_ "But maybe," Itachi pushed, "if they would touch you once, they could leave you in peace. And you'd both know, after that."_

_ "So what?" Sasuke snapped. "I should just let every random stranger put their hands all over me? That's your solution?"_

_ Itachi slowed the car down._

_ "No," he said softly. "No, of course not. You're right. I—"_

_ His brother sighed, and Sasuke felt like shit._

_ "I just wish I knew how to make your life easier," he finished quietly._

_ Sasuke swallowed and stared out the window._

_ "Guess I could always change my name."_

_ And Itachi laughed—soft and surprised, in a way that made Sasuke turn back—_

_ "You know," Itachi said, "I said the exact same thing at your age."_

_ "...And?"_

_ Itachi glanced over at him, smiling gently._

_ "Family pride, you know. It runs strong in us."_

* * *

"Sorry," came Naruto's voice again. "There's a—um—it was about—"

He heaved out a breath, and Sasuke turned on the microwave.

"There's, um, a—a probably stupid matchmaking service that tries to find your soulmate for you."

Sasuke turned around.

Naruto distinctly didn't look at him.

"Okay, yeah, I know."

Sasuke crossed his arms.

"How much is it?"

"I—okay, I _know _it's stupid—"

"Do you pay upfront or is there a subscription fee?"

"Sas—"

"Both?"

Naruto heaved out a breath. (Behind Sasuke, the microwave beeped.)

"Ye—okay, there's a lump sum up front and you pay to have the service keep looking every year, so—"

"Naruto. That is transparently a scam."

Naruto huffed out a breath.

"I know," he said glumly. "I just...thought it—y'know. Ugh."

Sasuke pulled his food from the microwave and made his way over to the couch. Naruto shuffled aside to let him have more room, and Sasuke reached over to stuff the second pair of chopsticks he'd grabbed into Naruto's bowl.

"Your date went that badly, did it?"

Naruto pulled his hand away from his face.

"It—it was okay. They're always okay. They're always _fine_, and then something stupid happens, like we both reach for the stupid water jug and of _course_ nothing happens when we touch and then—"

"You both spend the rest of the night awkwardly disappointed," Sasuke finished, mixing the food in his bowl to spread out the heat. "Perhaps you should just start the night with a high five, and stop the dinner then and there depending on the results."

Naruto laughed.

"Yeah, maybe I should. Ugh. I just wish more people were like—just—just open. To being with someone, even if they aren't the—the—the stupid perfect match to your soul's essence or whatever."

Sasuke snorted.

"That's a different tune than you usually sing."

Naruto glanced back at him.

"I—I mean," Naruto looked away, shrugging. "I dunno. I've been dating a long time. Sixty-three percent isn't that high. Maybe it's time to be realistic."

"Naruto. You aren't even thirty yet. Are you seriously giving up on this?"

Naruto breathed out a laugh.

"I—um," he shrugged, "nah. I'll probably find them. I mean—yeah. Maybe I've already found them, and they just don't know it yet."

He laughed again, as if making a joke. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Don't be stupid," Sasuke said. Naruto had been—had been something like relentless since the moment he'd met him. Stupidly relentless—stubborn and unyielding and full of idiotic ideas that got them both into trouble—

* * *

_His second day of school was...pretty much exactly like the first. Sasuke knew better than to expect any different. He was trained in dodging most people and snapping away the rest, and he'd done a fairly decent job of of that, today...except for one...stupid...exception. _

_ Naruto glared at him._

_ Sasuke's smirk widened._

_ "Boys," Mr. Umino snapped, and Sasuke turned to face him. _

_ "I'm disappointed in both of you," his new teacher said, eyeing them both side to side. "Sasuke—I understand your new classmates have been a bit...overbearing."_

_ Sasuke bit down on the scoff in his throat._

_ "But that is no reason to resort to violence."_

_ Sasuke glared at the chalkboard, just over his shoulder._

_ "And Naruto," the man continued, switching his disappointed eyes to Sasuke's side, "I thought we were past this. What happened?"_

_ Silence._

_ Sasuke thought he saw the guy's shoulders shrug, out of the corner of his eye, but that was it. At least the idiot hadn't managed to touch him—something that made Sasuke feel a great deal of pride. _

_ He hadn't managed to land a single hit._

_ Their teacher sighed._

_ "Well," he said, "I'd like you to spend this evening's detention reflecting on your behaviour. Once you have some thoughts, I'd like a three page essay on the different ways you could have handled your situation, without disrupting the class. Can I trust you two to behave?"_

_ Sasuke nodded. He didn't know if Naruto did the same._

_ "Good. I'll be back in a moment."_

_ And then he was gone, leaving Sasuke to the...quiet. He would have thought it would be blissful, compared to the barrage of people constantly trying to find a way to mark his skin, but, instead, it just…_

_ Reminded him of home._

_ The blonde stood._

_ "What are you doing, idiot?" Sasuke asked, glancing between the door and the—the window that Naruto was walking towards—_

_ "Getting outta here. Are you a snitch and an asshole, asshole?"_

_ Sasuke's eyes narrowed._

_ "You could use the door, dumbass."_

_ Naruto spun around._

_ "Yeah? Try it. Prick."_

_ Sasuke did it anyway, out of spite. Naruto...distinctly laughed at him as soon as it was clear that it was locked, and Sasuke spun around, only to find Naruto not even facing his way, bent halfway over and fiddling with—_

_ "What are you doing?" Sasuke asked again, coming closer. "That—"_

_ "It won't break it," Naruto said. "Or, uh, it might. I—"_

_ Snap._

_ "...Shit."_

_ Sasuke stared. Naruto continued to make the same deflating, helpless noise—_

_ Sasuke clapped a hand over his mouth in silent laughter._

_ "Wh—hey! Don't laugh at me! Asshole! You—"_

_ Sasuke stumbled back a few footsteps—automatically dodging away from Naruto's reach. The way he did from anyone's reach, really...he was getting quite good at it, now._

_ "Well," the idiot said, breathing out, "too late to turn back now! Coming?"_

_ And without another word, he flung the window away from where it had once fit, and...hopped right out. Sasuke glanced behind him at least three times before doing the same. But—_

_ "Oi, moron," Sasuke hissed after him, "he'll know it was us. Nobody else was in that room. Come back and fix—"_

_ "Come back? What, you already missing your fanclub or somethin'?" Naruto slapped a branch away from his face. "Why is everybody so obsessed with you, anyway?"_

_ Sasuke rolled his eyes._

_ "Because I'm an Uchiha, stupid."_

_ Naruto threw his hands in the air._

_ "Why does everybody keep saying that? The hell is that supposed to mean? I'm an Uzumaki! Bet that's just as good as any Uchiha—"_

"_You've never heard of my family?" Sasuke asked, staring._

_Naruto rolled his eyes so hard, the rest of his body moved with it._

"_D'you just expect everybody to fall at your feet, shithead? No."_

"_I—idiot, obviously not. You think I want everybody trying to grab me all the time? Why do you think I dress like—"_

_Sasuke cut himself off. There was no point explaining—it wasn't like anyone would ever understand._

"_Huh?"_

"_Nevermind. Go home, dumbass."_

"_Oh, thanks for the permission, jerk, not like I just broke us ou—oh shit, that's Iruka. Run. Run! Get outta—"_

_Naruto shoved at him—_

"_Stay," Mr. Umino demanded, ever so slightly out of breath, "right. There. Both of you."_

_Naruto froze. (Behind him, Sasuke did the same.)_

"_Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha. I was remarkably lenient with both of you. And I proceeded to place my trust where I, apparently, should not have." _

_(Naruto's back tensed, and his head bowed.) _

"_Damage to school property, Naruto?" _

_(His hands stayed stuck in his pockets, like he was clenching his fists, tighter and tighter, where no one could see.) _

"_That will have to be replaced. That will have to be paid for, and you—"_

"_It wasn't him."_

_It was like Sasuke's body moved on its own._

"_Sasuke?"_

_Naruto jerked back, eyes wide. Sasuke didn't look at him._

"_It was my idea. I broke the window. And I told Naruto to follow me."_

_Mr. Umino...visibly deflated. _

"_Alright. Sasuke, come with me. We're going to have a talk with your parents."_

_Sasuke bowed his head down, and followed him—moving right past the Naruto who stayed perfectly, perfectly still. _

_It was the only set of eyes on him that hadn't bothered him today._

* * *

"But that's my entire personality!" Naruto laughed, knowing they were words that had left _Sasuke_'s mouth at least once. Sasuke flicked a grain of rice at Naruto's face. "Anyway, you—uh. Have you been dating?"

"Yes," Sasuke deadpanned, and Naruto jerked back. "With my zero time, zero personality, and zero willingness to touch anyone around me, I've been having just a whale of a time."

Naruto snorted into his food.

"Okay, okay, okay, prick! Jeez—kill me for wanting to catch up on your life. Three months is a long time, y'know."

Sasuke snorted.

"It didn't feel it," he lied.

"Wh—_hey_!" Naruto said, immediately indignant— "You missed me—don't even try to lie. You've never called me that much before."

Sasuke shifted uncomfortably.

"Because I haven't _needed_ to, dumbass. You've burst into my life at every opportunity."

Naruto laughed.

"Uh-huh," he said, disbelieving. "You still have your outside gloves on, by the way."

"Crap," Sasuke muttered, sliding his food away.

"No, hey, here, gimmie—" Naruto said, laughing as he took Sasuke's bowl away. "You'd think after like two goddamn decades, you—"

* * *

_ Naruto...couldn't stop giggling._

_ Two minutes into art class and Naruto had gotten ahold of the glue gun, six new sticks, and some sort of—_

_ "Is this metal? You—"_

_ "What?" Naruto laughed, grabbing another big spike thing. "I'm just thinking, y'know, you're try'na deter people from coming near you and all, so—"_

_ He held the spike up._

_ "So anyone that tries to touch me ends up impaled?"_

_ Naruto's grin widened. And Sasuke…_

_ "That's…" Sasuke started, eyeing the spike again, "...not a bad idea. Glue another one on."_

_ "I always have good ideas, jerk," Naruto said, pulling Sasuke's hand back again. "Okay. Um…"_

_ Naruto held the spike in one hand and glue gun in the other, pressing the button until it went—_

_ "Wh—ow!" Sasuke yanked his hand back. "It's—that's hot, moron!"_

"_Wh—I didn't think it would—oops," Naruto said, glancing back at the glue gun. "Okay, uh—maybe you should take the glove off, and I can—"_

"_I'm not going to do that."_

_Naruto slid the gun down and shoved his fist into his cheek, lounging on the table._

"_So—what, you never take them off?"_

_Sasuke shrugged._

"_What about—when you're at home?"_

"_Sometimes," Sasuke answered vaguely. Mainly when he was alone, and not really anymore. It just felt more...comfortable. Like he was used to it. He…_

"_Wh—come on, though, like the summer?"_

"_I wear this in the summer," Sasuke muttered, going back to his sketchbook. "It's fine."_

"_Seriously? You are so weird."_

_Sasuke made a face at him and went back to his goddamn sketchbook._

"_What about—oh! When you're sleeping!"_

"_I have a separate set for sleep," he muttered, going back to his ske—_

"_What! Who's gonna—" Naruto cut himself off. "You—um. Nobody has actually snuck in at night, have they?"_

"_They did to my brother," Sasuke said. "Once he hit high school."_

_Naruto...made the most ridiculous, disgusted face. His eyes were wide and his nostrils even more so, and Sasuke found the laugh building in his throat before he even had the chance to stop it—_

"_Next year," Naruto slapped the table, and Sasuke turned away to hide his laugh. "We—stop laughing! We need more spikes! Get me the rest of your clothes, Mr. Perfect Soulmate, and we'll ge—"_

"_I'll kill you. Shut up, stupid, I don't need more spi—"_

"_Why not! Like some on your shoulders and you could get some of those really punk boots and you wear all black anyway, so—"_

"_You expect me to listen to anything you have to say about clothes? You dress like big bird."_

"_Wh—excuse me!? He doesn't even wear anything! Or—uh, does he? Hang on, I gotta check—"_

"_It's the yellow and the orange, stupid. Your entire wardrobe is built to give me a headache."_

"_Oh, what a coincidence, your entire everything is built to give me a headach—"_

"_Boys," said a voice, and Sasuke flinched as their teacher leaned over them, "keep it down, please?"_

"_Sorry, Mrs. Yūhi," Sasuke said quickly._

"_Oh—uh, yeah," Naruto shoved his arm over the glue gun, smiling innocently. "Sorry!" _

* * *

"The gloves feel the same to me, moron," Sasuke cut him off, switching his first pair for his second. "I forget they're there. Tell me more about your stupid frogs."

"Hey! No, okay—_no_, you're not allowed to have this back 'till you apologize," Naruto said, holding Sasuke's food hostage. "Apologize to the frogs!"

"My phone literally ran out of space," Sasuke deadpanned, "from storing all the photos you sent me."

"And every single one of them was beautiful and wonderful and worth every bit of space," Naruto yelled over the back of the couch. "You're lucky this was naturalistic observation, or I would've found a way to house thirty-five new frogs—"

"Thirty-six," Sasuke said, slipping back over the armrest, "if you count that one of the same species you found. I'm surprised you had that type of self-restraint."

"She was a beaut," Naruto grinned, "and you should be. Hardest thing I've ever done."

Sasuke snorted.

"We have enough frogs. And I'm not keeping thirty-something new Gama-whatevers company for the next three months you disappear for—"

"Like you'd have a choice!" Naruto laughed at him. "And you loved taking care of them. I know you did. Now apologize."

Naruto narrowed his eyes at him, holding the bowl.

"I'm very sorry," Sasuke said solemnly.

Naruto's lips twitched.

"You're so full of shit," he said, but it sounded like a laugh, and the bowl was shoved into Sasuke's chest a moment later.

"Whatever," he said, turning back to his food. "Are you supposed to be writing up everything you sent me or what?"

Naruto nearly flung his chopsticks off the couch.

"Come on, man! I'm two days into my bre—you know what, I'm gonna barge into your room in the middle of the night the next time it's exam time and be like _hey, Sasuke, you finish marking every goddamn paper yet, I know the deadline's like two weeks away but I'm gonna sit here and stress you out about it because I'm an assho_—"

"I get it, Naruto," Sasuke cut him off, and Naruto stuck out his tongue at him. Sasuke rolled his eyes and went back to his food, slouching into the couch further. He did, actually, have some assignments he needed to refine. And his last presentation hadn't gotten through as well as he'd wanted it to…and he'd _finally_ been goaded into being a thesis supervisor, which meant regularly scheduling even more meetings…

"You're stressing right now," Naruto said, shit-eating grin back on his face, "aren't you?"

Sasuke kicked Naruto's knee off the couch.

"Fuck off," he muttered, and Naruto laughed, putting his leg back exactly where it had been—and then stretching it right out.

"Why," Sasuke said, as Naruto's foot dug into his side.

"You deserve it," Naruto replied, and Sasuke sighed, but didn't move it away. There was no point, anyway—Naruto would just put it back. And he was still chilled from the walk back, so this—this really—

It wasn't so bad…

* * *

_ This wasn't so bad._

_ He'd expected Naruto's apartment to be...messier than it actually was. Although, he guessed, it wasn't really his apartment, but—_

_ "So your—your guardian won't be back tonight?"_

_ Naruto tossed his coat, keys and backpack onto the floor in the same move._

_ "Eh, who knows," he said, shrugging. "Want some noodles?"_

_ Sasuke snorted._

_ "Is that all you have here?"_

_ Naruto's grin widened._

_ "Yup! Who's gonna stop me? You?"_

_ "Do you—don't you add some vegetables or something?"_

_ "Why would I? They're good enough on their—"_

_ "No, they're not! Shove over, moron," Sasuke said, wrenching the fridge open. "You've...got some…"_

_ Sasuke pulled it out, frowning._

_ "This is all going bad."_

_ Naruto laughed._

_ "Not my problem! I didn't buy it."_

_ Sasuke grabbed the nearest kitchen utensil—a whisk, by the looks of things—and swatted at Naruto. Naruto yelped._

_ "Wh—"_

_ "The next time my brother and I go grocery shopping," Sasuke said, "you're coming with us. Move over, I'm going to cut these. How do you like your onions?"_

_ "I—uh?"_

_ "...You've never cooked an onion, have you?"_

_ "I have!" Naruto immediately yelled. "I totally have, I—"_

_ "Just start cutting, stupid. I'm going to tell my brother I'll be awhile."_

_ There was a pause. Sasuke went back to his coat, fishing his phone out of his pocket—_

_ "I mean," came Naruto's voice, "you could—if you wanted—"_

_ Sasuke turned around._

_ "You could just, um," Naruto said, holding a cutting board that nearly hid his entire face, "stay over. We're both going to school tomorrow anyway."_

_ Sasuke stared for a moment longer. Naruto didn't put the cutting board down._

_ "...I'll ask my brother."_

_ It—so very suddenly—felt a lot warmer in here._

* * *

"My legs too warm at all?" Naruto asked, and Sasuke glanced back at him.

"They're fine," he muttered, scraping at the rest of his lunch. Dinner? He didn't know what it was. His whole day was thrown off, today. Not that he much minded, but…

"S'it weird to have me back?" Naruto asked, still grinning.

"It was weird to have you gone," Sasuke admitted. "Far too quiet."

Naruto laughed.

"Oh, jeez, okay," he said, rolling his eyes. "I'll do my best to make up for it. Let's break out a video game so I can start yelling now—"

"You don't need a video game for that."

Naruto nearly choked on the last of his noodles.

"You ass! I'm tryin'a eat over here."

"Like a beast," Sasuke said, lounging back against the armrest, "as per usual."

Naruto punched him in the shoulder.

"You're such a dick," he said, settling back. "But I missed _you_, y'know, for the record."

Sasuke's smile widened.

"I know," he said. "You texted me about every five minutes."

Naruto huffed out a breath and rolled his eyes.

"I try to say _one_ nice thing and you go back and throw it in my—fine. Y'know what? I'm gonna keep the souvenir I got for you all to myself. It's mine now. Jerks don't get any presen—"

"It's a frog," Sasuke deadpanned, "isn't it?"

Naruto started coughing.

"I knew it. I spoke too soon. We're going to be crawling with frogs before the day is—"

"It's not a real frog!" Naruto laughed. "Hang on, hang on—"

He shoved himself to his feet, stumbling down the hall. Sasuke busied his smile with his food, instead. He should have known. Naruto had no space for anymore frog _anything_ in his room, and it had already started bleeding over to Sasuke's. It was only a matter of time before his would be covered, too.

Naruto's footsteps came trotting back down the hall, and Sasuke looked up expectantly.

Naruto held whatever the thing was behind his back.

"Yes?" Sasuke asked, something in Naruto's smile immediately setting him on edge—

"I thought he'd be good company," Naruto said, pulling it out, "for Mr. Roary."

* * *

_ "Naruto!" came his brother's voice. "Good to see you again!"_

_ Sasuke was already out the door. He paused, for a moment, though—just at the railing, just out of sight—_

_ "Hey, Itachi! This place is—" Naruto breathed out a laugh. "It's—it's really something, huh? I didn't know that—um, sorry, anyway, Sasuke said I could—"_

"_He's just upstairs. It is—yes, it's something. Our parents—well, anyway. I'm afraid they're out of town for the foreseeable future. Will you be spending the night?"_

"_I—uh, um. If that's alright?"_

_Itachi laughed. _

"_As if I could say no," he said, and Sasuke was already moving, "Sasuke would never speak to me agai—"_

"_Stop talking, Itachi," Sasuke quickly interrupted, letting himself finally be seen. "I thought father was coming home tomorrow morning?"_

_His brother breathed in._

"_Oh," Sasuke said—and then he turned around. He didn't know why he kept being disappointed. He barely ever saw either of them. What was there even to look forward to? Like his father would even take the time to meet Naruto properly anyway—_

"_Motherfuck, you guys have too many goddamn stairs," Naruto gasped out, flailing past Sasuke in a hunched over mess— "ugh—"_

_He hadn't even realized Naruto had been running after him._

"_Are you this out of shape?" he deadpanned anyway, feeling a bit—_

"_I wouldn't be, if some asshole hadn't made me quit basketball to focus on my studies—"_

"_You were literally failing."_

"_I wasn't!"_

_Sasuke crossed his arms._

_Naruto...pouted._

"_Fine. Whatever. Asshole."_

_Sasuke rolled his eyes._

"_You're an idiot."_

"_Nope," Naruto singsonged back at him, "I'm stubborn and hard-working and a surprisingly quick learner to anything I set my mind to—"_

"_I take every word of that back."_

_Naruto danced his way right in front of Sasuke._

"_Nah," he said, smile glittering and bright, "you don't."_

_Sasuke...breathed. It was the only way he could think to calm the nerves that had been—he'd been getting, recently. He'd been feeling them, more and more, in certain moments where Naruto would—would smile, or stare at him, or just—just—_

"_Fuck off, moron," he said, swerving around him. "Did you bring your textbooks?_

"_Lug them all here? Hell no—yours are in way better condition than mine anyway, so don't—don't give me that look! I read all the chapters you told me to!"_

"_And did the questions?"_

"_And did the questions! Actually, I kinda—there was this one in bio, and I, uh—I'll just show you. This your room?"_

"_I—yes. It is."_

_Naruto's smile widened, some sort of hint of affection and fondness and something else that made Sasuke's heart twist—_

"_God. Is everything you own black? You're so fuckin' goth—"_

"_You're an idiot."_

_Naruto laughed. _

"_Wh—hey! Who's this? Don't tell me tha—"_

"_That's—" Sasuke said, nearly throwing himself at the damn thing, "that's not—Itachi keeps putting that back here, it's not—"_

"_He's so cute! What's his name?"_

"_That—that's irrelevant, give it—"_

"_Oh my god, he has a name?"_

"_Will you give me the stupid plushie—"_

"_I absolutely will not," Naruto said, throwing himself onto Sasuke's bed and hugging it tight. "This is your life now. Me and—"_

_Damn it. Damn it all—Naruto looked down at the tag, smile widening—_

"_Mr. Roary."_

"_I will kill you."_

* * *

Sasuke...really tried not to laugh. He did. He—

"You moron," he said, shaking his head, "fuck you."

"Come on," Naruto said, waving the frog in his face, "say hi! I was thinking Mr. Croaky, or maybe Monsieur, y'know, to add some class—"

Sasuke snatched the frog out of Naruto's hands and threw it directly at his nose.

Bullseye.

"Wh—_hey_!" Naruto cried, scrambling for the poor frog plushie, laying on the floor. "Mean! How dare you! Mr. Croaky is a valued member of this family—"

"Oh just give it to me," Sasuke sighed, snatching the toy out of his hands. He slid his bowl onto the table and barged past him, but Naruto's laughter just followed him along the way—

"No, seriously though," he said, leaning against Sasuke's doorway as Sasuke tossed the plush onto the bed. (Out of _habit_, that was it—) "it's actually really cool. It's an Ishikawa's frog, and it's actually endangered, but that's really what they look like. Isn't it gorgeous? The pattern is _so_ symmetrical and like—like really beautiful, but they're actually _so_ hard to see in person. I lost my buddy like eight times."

"Yes," Sasuke said, "I remember. You were utterly anguished."

Naruto ducked his head, laughing. Sasuke pushed past him again—slower, this time.

"Yeah," Naruto said softly, as Sasuke felt his warmth, ever so slightly, through the fabric of his clothes, "I, um, figured those were the texts that made you laugh at me the most."

Sasuke's lips twitched.

"You guessed correctly. Come on."

Naruto let out a soft laugh, but dutifully followed him back to the couch, plopping himself down with the bowl back in his lap. Sasuke followed suit, still fighting the smile—same as that stupid, wonderful, warm feeling in his chest.

That stupid, stupid feeling.

"Weren't you with that guy," Sasuke asked, intent on crushing it as it came, "for your trip?"

"I—uh?"

"The man," Sasuke commented, "in the back of your photos."

"Oh—_oh_, Gaara? No, he was studying the plants over there—same trip as me, though. He was really good to bounce ideas off of—our research is, like, grounded in the same kind of thing. Even though it's pretty different."

Naruto laughed.

"But I—what, you thought I hooked up with some guy and ditched him for a date two days after I got back?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"I figured the date was him," he said honestly. It was a matter of time, wasn't it? Before Naruto met someone who…

Sasuke swallowed.

"Oh!" Naruto laughed. "No. Hard no, actually—he'd found his soulmate already, so...yeah. No. His mark is actually on his forehead, I can't believe you didn't see it."

He had, actually. He'd thought Naruto might have put it there.

"I guess his bangs kinda cover it..." Naruto continued, blissfully unaware of Sasuke's twisting chest, as per usual. It was good, though. He didn't want Naruto to know. It would be better if Naruto never knew.

"Anyway," Naruto said, shaking his head a little, "what about you? I know you said you weren't dating, but wasn't there that one prof in your department that—"

"I hate him."

Naruto laughed.

"You hate me," he pointed out, and Sasuke snorted.

"He is a level of annoying you could never hope to reach," Sasuke told him. "I hate to crush your dreams so soon."

Naruto coughed out another laugh, putting his bowl down. Sasuke was nearly done himself—

"I mean, but—so—hang on. Have you, like, hooked up with people?"

Sasuke stared at him, incredulous.

"You are bothering me every second of every day," he said. "_When_ do you think I could possibly have the time to go off and have these secret—"

"I mean!" Naruto laughed. "I don't—but—but I just—that means—"

He waved a hand over his grin.

"That means I'm still your—your one and only kiss, yeah?"

Sasuke nearly pulled his turtleneck over his damn head.

* * *

_ "Sasssukkeeeee!" Naruto laughed, rolling around. "We did it!"_

_ "We did."_

_ "We diiid iiiiiit!"_

_ Sasuke snorted, surreptitiously shoving Naruto's drink away from his knee. They'd both somehow decided to give up on the perfectly good couch, slouching on the floor, instead. Well, Sasuke was slouching. Naruto was—_

_ "We diiiiiiid—"_

_ "Be quieter, stupid," Sasuke said, shoving at the face rolling towards him. The condensation from the glass had already soaked his gloves a little, and Naruto yelped as the cold hand swatted at him, "or the neighbours will complain."_

_ "Nah—they haven't yet! They shoulda by now," Naruto protested, rolling back over. "If they cared, they would've."_

_ Sasuke fought a smile, but conceded the point. It certainly wasn't the first time Naruto had been way too loud._

_ Naruto giggled again, sitting up._

_ "I can't believe," he said, grinning right in Sasuke's face, "that I didn't fail a single goddamn class."_

_ Sasuke raised an eyebrow._

_ "I'll take that as a thank you."_

_Naruto laughed._

"_Thank you, Sasuke!" he sing-songed. "Should we—m'almost done this drink. Want another one?" _

_He was already getting up. He used Sasuke's thigh to help him—_

"_Weaker," Sasuke muttered, "make it...weaker."_

_Naruto laughed and saluted him with his empty cup, spinning around. _

_Sasuke shuffled over to lean against the couch. His head was spinning and it didn't have anything to do with the alcohol. The past few months had been a blur—between his parents suddenly appearing back in his life to talk only of university, and Naruto being lost in quiet, helpless thoughts about never ending in the same place—_

_It had so very, very nearly been a mess._

"_Guh," Naruto said, sliding back to his side. "Whatcha being quiet for?"_

"_You've been stupid recently," Sasuke told him, and Naruto started laughing again._

"_Recently?!" he said, shoving himself down to nudge at Sasuke's shoulder with his face. (It was a soft, warm, familiar gesture—Sasuke couldn't remember when Naruto had begun it.) "Are you surprised or somethin'?"_

_Sasuke's smile widened._

"_I haven't heard you talk like that," he said, "since you trashed Mr. Umino's window."_

"_Mr. Umino!" Naruto laughed, using Sasuke's arm to shove himself up. "And you're making fun of the way I talk. How many years has it been? You know you don't have to call everybody 'sir' and 'ma'am', right, honour stude—"_

_Sasuke shoved Naruto's laughing face into the couch._

"_My tongue has to do double the work," Sasuke said, pulling back to huddle his glass back to himself, "given your inability to hold yours."_

_Naruto snorted out a giggle._

"_Uh-huh," he said, his grin turning some level of shit-eating that immediately had Sasuke wanting to sigh, "and yet, here you are. Grad night—invited to like eight different afterparties, and you chose this o—"_

"_Nothing you do could possibly be worse than whenever mess they had planned," Sasuke pointed out, and then he paused._

_Naruto's eyes glittered._

"_Is that a—"_

"_It's not a challenge!"  
_

"_Oh, I think it's a challen—"_

"_It's not! It's not—I will kill you, don't you dare. Don't you—don't even move," Sasuke said, drink splashing threateningly along the edges of the cup he brandished at Naruto. "I will—"_

_Naruto laughed at him._

"_Okay, okay!" he said, holding his hands up. "Whatever you want. I'm just sayin', though—you'd be the heart of the party."_

"_I would not."_

"_People would yell as soon as you walked in—"_

"_I hate it."_

"—_all like Sasuke! Look at how little I'm wearing! Sasuke, here's thirty drinks just for looking at me! Sasuke—"_

"_I am going to strangle you."_

"_You'd take your pick making out with everybody in the room—"_

"_You're literally describing a nightmare."_

_Naruto finally broke down into laughter._

"_Really? A nightmare? There ain't a damn person on this earth that the amazing incredible heartthrob Sasuke wants t'kiss?"_

"_I'd kiss you to shut you up."_

_He regretted it as soon as the words left his mouth. And then he regretted it again, and again, and again, and again, with every new wave of 'why did I say that' rushing through his mind—_

"_Yeah? Really?" Naruto said, eyes bright and interested and he was already sitting up—getting up—what was he— "Hang on, oh my god—"_

_Naruto tripped his way into the kitchen, laughing some sort of bewildered delight that had Sasuke—that had Sasuke—_

_Naruto pulled out a roll of saran wrap._

"_You've got to be kidding me," Sasuke said, as Naruto promptly tripped over the thing unrolling in his hands._

_Naruto burst into laughter. He tripped over the roll again, this time letting himself tumble onto his knees—stopping, not even an inch in front of Sasuke's face, with the saran wrap stretched between them._

"_Sasuke Uchiha's first kiss," he started, voice exaggerated and stupid and so, so singularly Naruto, "it's the question of the night, here in Naruto Uzumaki's apartment. Rumours have it that the dashing Uzumaki is there, himself, willing to give up his own coveted first kiss in orde—"_

"_Oh, just shut up."_

_It was a blur. Sasuke grabbed the roll (and Naruto's hand) with one gloved hand and held it to Naruto's cheek with the other, stretching it in between them as he pressed his lips to Naruto's in something—something—_

_Sasuke pulled back._

_Warm. Warm and soft and something that left him feeling like he was trembling. Like he was shaking. Like he was—_

_Naruto let out a soft, breathless laugh._

"_And the crowd goes wild."_

* * *

"Why," Sasuke said, feeling his soul melt into the couch, "would you—"

"What? We did! You—"

"I kissed some saran wrap to shut you up," Sasuke said, not looking at him. "Don't make any more of it."

Naruto let out a soft laugh.

"If only all your admirers knew it was that easy," he said. "Annoy Sasuke enough, and he'll do anything to get you to stop, even become your _friend_—"

Sasuke flicked a chopstick at Naruto's arm. It hit him and harmlessly bounced onto the floor, rolling somewhere under the couch.

"Ow," Naruto said anyway, as if it would fool Sasuke for even a second.

"How stupid would I have to be," Sasuke began, "to choose to live with the man who annoyed me the most?"

Naruto turned his grin onto him.

"A dumbass."

Sasuke threw his other chopstick.

Naruto whacked it out of the air this time, laughing—

"You can't set me up like that!" he said, as the second chopstick was lost to the floor—Sasuke set his bowl down, too, for good measure. "It was too easy!"

"I find it hard to believe you catch onto any set-ups," Sasuke deadpanned, "considering you were about an hour away from falling for the most blatant sca—"

"You—hey! That wasn't even the only thing they were selling, I—"

Naruto cut himself off.

Sasuke...shifted to stare at him directly.

"I—uh, I mean, you're right, though," Naruto said, shaking his head with that too-loud laugh that always, immediately, easily gave him away. "Good thing you came back, huh? I was—"

"What else were they selling?"

Naruto breathed in.

"Not really—not really anything. It wasn't—"

"Naruto."

Naruto's mouth opened and closed, eyes darting nervously to Sasuke and back—

"It was another, um," Naruto scratched the back of his neck, ducking his head, "...test."

"For?"

Naruto didn't look at him.

"Halves."

* * *

_ "Ugh," Naruto groaned, "this shit again. I'm gonna lose my mind. Is it gonna look bad for you if I just start decking people?"_

_ Sasuke bit down on his laugh._

_ "By all means," he said. "Be my guest."_

_ Naruto threw him a grin, and then it faltered. Sasuke felt his do the same, he silence seeping into his skin—_

"_Does it bother you?"_

_Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Naruto look up._

"_Does it bother you," Sasuke repeated, steadily studying the floor, "that you don't know what everyone else does?"_

_There was a small pause._

"_Sakura did try to tell me once."_

_Sasuke's head jerked up. The small, sheepish smile was back on Naruto's face, now—_

"_Did she?"_

"_Yeah," Naruto said. "You wanna know what I did?"_

_Sasuke nodded. _

_Naruto promptly jammed his fingers into his ears and— _

"_LALALALALALALALALA—" _

_Sasuke ripped his hands away and shoved them into Naruto's laughing face. _

"_Stupid—you are so—" _

_Naruto's laughter slowed into a smaller, softer grin. _

"_Mm," he hummed, "I meant it though. If I was gonna find out, let you tell me. And if you don't, then you don't. I wouldn't blame you for wanting one person in the world to not shit their pants over you." _

"_...Thank you," Sasuke sighed, pained, "ever so much for ending on that mental image." _

_Naruto waggled his eyebrows at him. _

"_Knew you'd love it."_

_The silence slowly came back again, and Sasuke..._

"_You don't have to," Naruto said immediately, as if reading Sasuke's mind. "I mean it. I don't mind. I've pieced some stuff together anyway—not on purpose, so I might be totally off—but I—"_

"_I want to," Sasuke said quietly, and Naruto was silenced._

_That feeling was back in Sasuke's chest again. Those nerves—that fear—the way his heart started to pound, harder and faster with every second Naruto continued to look at him that way. Look at him like—_

"_My family," Sasuke started softly, "is...known for having had," (he breathed in) "more unrequited soulmates than any other family in history. Halves, if you want to call them that. Everybody else does. We're the reason everyone thinks it's hereditary. My father—and my mother—both...never found their soulmate. They're that...movement."_

"_Oh," Naruto said quietly. "The, um, antiheart stuff?"_

"_That's the one. They fund it, mostly. To stop shaming those who never find their stupid soulmate, or the people who don't have one, or the—"_

_Sasuke cut himself off._

"_I mean," Naruto said, "I agree with the sentiment. If they...if they still think love can, um, exist and stuff—"_

"_They fell out of love years ago. Keep it up for appearances. Itachi and I are just the living reminders of their failures."_

_Naruto sucked in a breath._

"_Anyway. That's not what thi—"_

"_Fuck that!" Naruto said, voice raised. "You should be a reminder of their fucking success—look at you! You know what an asshole you could've become?! With everybody all over you like that?"_

_Sasuke looked up. (God, his heart. His heart, his heart, his heart—)_

"_That's why they're never home?! I—oh, fuck me, you are so lucky you told me this after I met your dad because I'm gonna—"_

"_What?" Sasuke asked, smile fighting at the corners of his lips. "Fight him?"_

"_I fuckin' will," Naruto said, nodding, "don't try me. I—has he ever said any of this to you? I—oh, I will—"_

"_No. No, relax," Sasuke said, laughing. "He hasn't. He never will. He's easy enough to read, though. I've been seeing my mother much more since I moved out."_

_Naruto...reluctantly conceded the point._

"_She didn't wanna see him that bad, huh?"_

"_Mm. I don't know the details. I don't care to," he added, as an afterthought. "Anyway—the rumour is—with the way the Uchiha family is cursed—"_

_Naruto jolted._

"—_that we have a tendency to fall in love easily. And overwhelmingly. Whoever is the—target tends to get a great deal of publicity, too." _

_ Naruto made a long, strained, fading noise._

"_I am—I'm just trying to deal," Naruto said, staring at the floor and shaking his head, "with the sheer amount of bullshit that just came out of your mouth—"_

_Sasuke laughed._

"_I need—fucking hell. I need some food. Let's order in. Tell me again—go through this again with me. People obsess over you so they can fuck you over?"_

"_Ramen? That's about it, really. What other clarifications did you need?"_

"_No—whatever—you pick. Your choice. I'm paying. You paid last time, fuck off, don't argue with me, I'm way too fucking mad right now—"_

_Sasuke reached up and shoved his gloved hand through Naruto's hair._

"_Stupid," he said softly. Affectionately. God, he—_

"_It's," Naruto shook his head, "cruel. That's so cruel. How can—how could someone—"_

"_Status," Sasuke said gently. "I'm not generally viewed as a person, Naruto."_

_Sasuke jumped as Naruto's fist hit the floor._

"_Naru—"_

"_Sorry," Naruto said, breathing out. "Sorry. I—sorry."_

_Sasuke leaned back, amused._

"_Need a hug?"_

_Naruto tapped his fist to his thigh in a repetitive, anxious motion, letting out a breath that nearly sounded like a laugh—_

"_You fucking asshole," he said, smile back on his face. "Pick some damn food."_

_He slid his phone over to Sasuke. Sasuke rolled his eyes, but picked it up nonetheless._

"_Yes sir," he deadpanned, scrolling through the menu. What did he feel like tonight…_

"_Cursed," Naruto muttered under his breath, and Sasuke rolled his eyes. He didn't know what he'd expected._

"_That's what they say, not me," he muttered, staring at Naruto's phone. _

"_What do you say, then?"_

_Sasuke didn't let himself look up._

"_I think," he started softly, "that it's...lucky. To meet someone you connect with that...deeply. Even if they never love you back."_

_And Sasuke...was lucky. Even if it hurt, sometimes. Even if it felt helpless, sometimes. Even if he'd lie awake, staring at the ceiling, feeling like an idiot, a desperate, desperate idiot, because he knew he was fated to be bound to someone who was bound to someone else and he definitely didn't need any fucking mark to tell him who it was—_

_It was better than never knowing him at all._

_Naruto let out a soft laugh._

"_Yeah. That's exactly how I feel, too."_

* * *

No wonder Naruto hadn't wanted to tell him.

"You're really giving up, aren't you?"

Naruto's head jerked up.

"No, I—"

"You haven't even lived half your life, and you've decided that you'll never find your soulmate? Come _on_—"

"I just—I've always thought it, okay?" Naruto heaved out a breath, looking intensely uncomfortable. "Some people find people and other people _don't_, and if you look at who I am, I'm really pretty damn sure I'm not gonna—"

"Naruto," Sasuke cut him off—gently, this time. "This isn't you speaking."

Naruto stopped and looked away.

"You haven't been alone in a long time," Sasuke told him, and Naruto's face—

Changed.

"Yeah," he said, laughing. "Yeah, I know."

He looked like he wanted to cry.

"What's the matter with you?" Sasuke asked, shoving Naruto's legs off him as he sat up—

"Nothing. Just—I'm just—I slept bad." Naruto huffed out a breath, and it sounded thick. "Been feeling off all day. That's all—don't worry. M'gonna take a nap."

Naruto pulled back further.

Sasuke felt himself do the opposite.

"Take your nap out here," he said immediately. "You're the one always bragging about how good this couch is."

Naruto looked up at him.

Sasuke reached out and pulled Naruto's feet out from under him—and Naruto yelped, but didn't squirm until they were back, kicking at Sasuke's stomach like they always seemed to be—

"Asshole," Naruto muttered, throwing a hand over his eyes.

"Dumbass," Sasuke shot back.

The last thing he was gonna do was let Naruto be alone right now.

* * *

_"This one isn't bad," Naruto said, peering back into the room._

_ "You've said that about every single one so far," Sasuke said, already walking away. _

_ "Wh—'cause they have been! I dunno why you have such ridiculously high standards for an apartment, jeez—"_

_ "I don't have ridiculously high standards," Sasuke muttered, and Naruto barged right back into his vision to give him his dumbest, most doubtful look._

_ Sasuke's lips twitched._

_ "Whatever," he said, walking past him. It was—it wasn't—_

_ Okay. Maybe he did have high standards, but not for the reasons Naruto thought. He'd just—he'd just gotten used to it. Over the years. And yes, obviously, Naruto was probably going to sleep over more nights than not, and Naruto would never turn him away, but after years of being his roommate, Sasuke felt—_

_ "So, what? You hate this one too?"_

_ "Yes," Sasuke said, turning on his heel. Naruto laughed at him._

_ "God," he groaned, trotting to catch up to Sasuke's side. "You're gonna be a nightmare when you're trying to buy a house, huh? Hope you don't hire a realtor, 'cause you'll probably tear them a new one—"_

_ "I'm being perfectly pleasant," Sasuke snapped._

_ "Oh, yeah, that was real nice," Naruto shot back. _

_ "You—like you're one to talk?" Sasuke said, hackles up. "Have you even bothered to look for a place, or are you just going to just take one of the rejects I leave behind?"_

_ There was a pause. It took Sasuke a moment to realize Naruto had stopped walking, hand in his hair and gaze somewhere else—_

_ "I...can't afford an apartment, Sasuke," he said quietly. "I'm going back to live in the old place."_

_ Sasuke stared._

_ "You hate it there," he said, and Naruto's head jerked up. And no, he'd never heard Naruto say it, and no, he'd never told Naruto that he knew, but he—_

_ "It's—not so bad," Naruto said, shrugging. "I only have to sleep there, y'know. I'm saving for a car, and—"_

_ "Live with me."_

_ It wasn't even a thought. It was barely even a breath. The words had been moving up along Sasuke's tongue with every small, barren, explicitly single apartment they had visited—_

_ "Sas—" Naruto cut himself off in a small, breathless laugh. "C'mon. You don't want me—"_

_ "Live with me," Sasuke said again, "or I'm coming back with you to the old place."_

_ Naruto looked up, and there was nothing in the world that could have stopped his eyes from broadcasting their hope._

_ "You mean it?" he said, and it sounded like a different question entirely._

_ Sasuke crossed his arms and firmly turned around._

_ "Always."_

* * *

Sasuke shifted along the couch, wondering if he'd actually be able to free himself now. Naruto had either gotten incredibly good at faking sleep over the past three months, or he actually was as exhausted as he'd said. And surely beating himself up over whatever particular something happened to be bothering him, of course, but probably also exhausted.

Sasuke nudged his foot a little, trying to test if he would twitch.

Nothing.

He supposed Naruto had always been remarkably quick at falling asleep. Not like Sasuke—Sasuke could lie awake in the darkest room for any number of hours, with absolutely no discomfort to credit it to. Naruto could fall asleep midway through climbing a fence.

Sasuke snorted at his own joke.

Naruto still didn't move.

He was hesitant to even turn the TV back on—with the channel it had been on. These thoughts had been...well, they'd never been anywhere _good_, and they certainly weren't going to get there anytime soon. It was so easy to forget, sometimes, when he was alone with Naruto, that there was a world of inevitable pain waiting for him, one day. He knew he ought to just appreciate what he had now, instead of waiting for a doomsday that could possibly, maybe not even come, but—

How could it not?

How could it not, really? Honestly? Truly? The fact that it had taken this long was a miracle. Hell, it was probably Sasuke's fault—being around him distracted everyone from getting to know Naruto properly. But the minute someone did, they…

It would be irreversible. It would be unstoppable. It would be consuming and powerful and Sasuke knew it all first hand—although the pain and the yearning and the desperate, desperate nights would likely...likely just be his experience.

Sasuke swallowed, running a gloved hand through his hair.

Recently—it wasn't a new thought, but even more so recently—Sasuke had been starting to think that maybe he ought to just...succumb to the inevitable. Maybe it was time. Maybe he ought to just—just stop putting it off, because the longer he did that, the likelier it was that Sasuke would be just a little too relaxed and Naruto would get just a little too close and—the amount of times he'd nearly touched Sasuke's face was getting higher every day, and if he did—if he did—

Then it would all be over.

Their relationship would never be the same. It would never recover. How could it? Naruto was empathetic to a fault and the sheer amount of guilt would cut down every word he tried to say. Every smile he tried to feel. He'd spend every day pouring over Sasuke's suffering, beating himself down for being unable to love Sasuke back when it wasn't his fault, it would never be his fault, it was no one's fault but Sasuke's own—

Sasuke swallowed, looking down at his hands. Any changes in his wardrobe, and Naruto would notice. He'd grown used to the gloves, anyway—and after—after years of wanting to reach out—Sasuke couldn't quite stop himself from—

He slipped past Naruto's feet, off the couch. Naruto did little more than breathe—hand still swung over his face, lopsided just enough to let Sasuke...to let Sasuke—

Sasuke breathed in and pulled his glove off. It would barely be a moment. Barely be a second—one touch, and he'd know, and he could take this secret to his deepest grave—just—just one—

For the first time, Sasuke felt Naruto's skin on his own.

And it was warm—god, he'd _known_ it would be warm, and soft, and every bit as beautiful as Naruto himself. Sasuke let his thumb trace along Naruto's cheekbone as he breathed out, a shuddering, trembling breath—

And then it stopped.

Naruto's skin was stained. It was stained—smeared with a purple so dark it was nearly black—Sasuke's knees gave out and he fell, staring at his own hand, his own stain, the too-bright yellow he hadn't known but _god_ he'd known it would be—

"Wh—mm, Sas—? What are you—" he blinked—once, and then again, sitting up with eyes far more awake, "your glove—"

Sasuke let his hand fall, palm up.

Naruto froze.

And when those blue eyes finally met his, they were full of fear. Full of fear and doubt and gut-wrenching, desperate hope—_god_, Sasuke knew it like the palm of his stained hand—

"Really?" Naruto breathed.

Sasuke nodded. And then he nodded again, and again, and once more, as Naruto fell down into his arms, shaking as strongly as Sasuke knew he must be—and Sasuke held him tight, held him tighter, clutching at Naruto as if he would disappear in his arms—and wouldn't he? Wasn't he going to? This was impossible. This was _impossible_, he—

"You asshole," Naruto breathed, and it sounded like a laugh. "You _bastard_, you—this was supposed to be impossible—"

He ducked back, wiping at his face. (The tears didn't smear the stain. It was real. It was _real_—)

"That's my line," Sasuke said, swallowing against the lump in his throat.

"Where did—what did you—do I—"

Naruto paused, staring over Sasuke's shoulder. Sasuke turned in time to see Naruto's widening smile, in the reflection of the dark TV screen.

"Is it black?" he asked, laughing—

"It's purple, stupid," Sasuke muttered, unable to stop himself from touching it again. He kept expecting it to _go_, to erase, to disappear—

Naruto beamed his watery smile right in between Sasuke's hands.

"Yeah. Yeah, that fits." Naruto swallowed, eyes darting in between Sasuke's. "Can I kiss you for real now?"

Sasuke breathed out, and it tasted like relief.

"You'd better."

* * *

_A/N: Aaaand there it is! What did you think? We had a bit of a voting battle going on between purple/yellow and orange/blue, but purple won out in the end. Did you expect what it was for? Did you like the fic? Let me know!_

_There will be some extra bits up on tumblr soon enough :) Also, the name Mr. Roary is a shoutout to Jasuwonderworld's doujin Behind the Disguise!_

_Till next time,_

_\- Kinomi_


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